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Israelis increasingly focus their disappointment not on Obama, but rather on his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.
AP Photo

The very existence of that belief has been a bitter pill for the Emanuel family to swallow. The family changed its last name from “Auerbach” to “Emanuel” to honor an uncle who was killed in a clash with Arabs in pre-Israel Palestine. Emanuel’s own middle name is “Israel,” and he compiled a strong, though occasionally dovish, pro-Israel record during his three terms as a Democratic congressman.

Shortly after Obama selected Emanuel for his post, a story in the Israeli tabloid Maariv quoted his father, Benjamin Emanuel, asserting that his son "obviously … will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."

That comment caused an outcry among Arab American groups and prompted an apology from his son.

But late last month, Benjamin Emanuel — a retired Chicago doctor who was born in Jerusalem and served in a pre-Israeli-state militant Zionist group known as the Irgun or Etzel — lashed out at Israeli treatment of his son.

"I'm simply surprised that in Israel they jump down his throat," he told a Haaretz reporter angrily — and in Hebrew.

"I love the country, my children are Zionists, they came to Israel every year, and I don't know why they're attacking Rahm. I support Netanyahu, I was a member of the Etzel," he is quoted as saying.

Rahm Emanuel’s office did not answer questions about the Israeli perceptions, his role in crafting Middle East policy or his connections to Israel. Instead, his spokeswoman Sarah Feinberg said in a statement, “Dr. and Mrs. Emanuel are private citizens. The Emanuel family would greatly appreciate it if reporters would respect their privacy and refrain from calling them at their home.”

History of Israeli obsession

There is a long history of Israeli “obsession with politicians and advisors to the U.S. presidents who are Jewish going back to Kissinger,” said Mitchell Barak, a Jerusalem-based pollster who during the presidential campaign conducted several surveys showing Israelis favoring Republican John McCain over Obama.

Channeling what he said are common Israeli sentiments, Barak said “we were proud that Rahm reached the top and we felt comfortable and secure that he was going to look after our interests. And now we find out that that’s not the case.”

Citing Obama’s call for Israel to cease building new settlements in Palestinian territory, Barak asserted Israelis think Emanuel “is giving Obama his Kosher stamp of approval to be tough on Israel, when they thought he was going to be there to explain our position.”

That sentiment is an unfair characterization and reflects a misunderstanding of Emanuel’s role, said Aaron David Miller, a former State Department official who worked on Arab-Israeli peace negotiations under four presidents.

“On matters related to Israel and Middle East policy, Rahm will have a very strong voice, but he’s not the power behind the throne on foreign policy,” said Miller, who worked with Emanuel during the Clinton administration and is now a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center. “The whole thing is inside Jewish baseball, and it’s not healthy. It’s symptomatic of a real dysfunction in the way some Israelis look at the world and look at America.”

Miller, who is also Jewish, is familiar with some of the pressures confronting Emanuel. In 1989, as a lead peace negotiator for then-Secretary of State James Baker, he was publicly lambasted in Israel along with two other Jewish diplomats as being “self-hating Jews.”

“This is different, though — it’s a complete misreading of Rahm. Rahm is a tough, pragmatic guy who has a real commitment to the security of Israel. His credentials on that are above reproach,” Miller said.

Peace between Israel and Palestin would solve America's chronic problem with the Middle East and would make Obama go down in history as the president who brokered the almost impossible. Emanuel has a hard job, because he is viewed suspiciously from both sides. Obama has one to many Emanuels in his administration. See the public health care option that just faltered for Obama .......he he

I'm sure the Isrealis were and will be much happier dealing with the Republican party leadership who are steeped in rich fundamentalist Christian values. Listening to a few of our prominent Republican Senators speaking recently about the importance of including Jesus in the decision making process in Washington, D.C. makes them real assets to the peace process and all foreign policy decisions, just like they were during the Bush administration. Anyone in the world who is not a Christian is bound to "go sweet" on the U.S. after listening to the far right wing of the Republican party talk about the importance of mixing religion, politics, and war. Then there's that whole house full of Christian Senators in D.C. we are just leaning about.

As Bill Clinton would say, " Give me a break!" What is this? So a man can not try to do his job, just for once, this once, and not get fire for it? When are these people going to start looking beyond themselves and have consideration for others? Stop with the settlement expansions already!!!

Hey you average lib, stop and think, Ask yourself, where does all this trust in Government or STATE come from? What is the working model that you are hoping to emulate?

Would you trust a man on the street with your finances, would you trust him to look after your best interest and not his at your expense?

“The American constitution is about providing freedom from abuse by those in authority. Anyone who says the American Constitution is obsolete just because social and economic conditions have changed does not understand the real genius of the Constitution. It was designed to control something which HAS NOT CHANGED AND WILL NOT CHANGE—NAMELY, HUMAN NATURE.” (5000 Year Leap, Skousen, 1981, p. 166)

I'm sure the Isrealis were and will be much happier dealing with the Republican party leadership who are steeped in rich fundamentalist Christian values. Listening to a few of our prominent Republican Senators speaking recently about the importance of including Jesus in the decision making process in Washington, D.C. makes them real assets to the peace process and all foreign policy decisions, just like they were during the Bush administration. Anyone in the world who is not a Christian is bound to "go sweet" on the U.S. after listening to the far right wing of the Republican party talk about the importance of mixing religion, politics, and war. Then there's that whole house full of Christian Senators in D.C. we are just leaning about.

This is the depth of ignorance of the American Far Left..and The powerful, rich Immigrant Rights Organization. The Conservative Christians of the USA..ARE THE BEST ALLY ISRAEL HAS...AND THEY KNOW IT. WHEN THE FAR LEFT..TEAM OBAMA..WENT AFTER REV. HAGEE IN TEXAS...AT LEAST THREE RABBIS WERE ON THE AIR DEFENDING HIM..AS WELL THEY SHOULD. CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS ARE TAUGHT THAT JEWS ARE GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE..THAT THEY HAVE BEEN DELIVERED TO ISRAEL TO SET IN MOTION THE PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE....AND A TRUE CHRISTIAN...IF NEED BE..WOULD RUSH TO ISRAEL AND DEFEND IT WITH THEIR BARE HANDS IF NEEDED.

DO SOME RESEARCH...TEAM OBAMA. CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS DO NOT SPEW THE VEMON AND BILE THE FAR LEFT.. ( REV. WRIGHT AND REV. JAMES CONE AND THE NATION OF ISLAM ARE THREE IN PARTICULAR) THE HATE THEY SEND TO ISRAEL...TEAM OBAMA CONDONES.

TeamPOLITICO: Aug. 17, 2009 - 4:51 AM EST

Later, Haaretz reported that conservative Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has feuded with Obama, has slurred both Emanuel and fellow senior adviser David Axelrod as “self-hating Jews.”

It is about time someone called those two out. I would hope that Israeli power brokers realize the damage Ralm and The Axe are doing to the ONE sure source of unconditional Support for Israel...THE CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN RIGHT. ALL 80 MILLIONS OF THEM.....WHO BELIEVE THAT ISRAEL IS A PART OF THE RESURRECTION...THAT GOD HAS BROUGHT HIS MOST BELOVED PEOPLE..JEWS...HOME AND THUS SET IN MOTION THE PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE.

Now that the Southern Poverty :Law Center...The Jewish Demagagues of the Far Left..Have been unleased to resurrect the Myth of the Right Wing "Milita " group Bogeyman.....again...attack conservative Christians for their stand on Pro Life, opposition to illegal immigration, and their rejection of Globalism as dehumanizing. ( The Pope has some eloquent writings on Globalism and it's evils...AND THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER ALSO VICIOUSLY ATTACKS CATHOLICS....GOOGLE THE CATHOLIC FAMILY NEWS FOR THEIR SHOCKING CLAIMS THAT CATHOLICS ARE 'NAZIS' BECAUSE THEY ARE PRO-LIFE AND NOT PROGAY. SEVERAL MONASTERIES HAVE SUED TO STOP THE VULTURES FROM SENDING OUT MALICIOUS LIES ABOUT THEM. THAT TOO IS EASILY GOOGLED.

TEAM OBAMA....EMMANUEL AND AXELROD......ARE BREAKING BONDS I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD LIVE TO SEE BROKEN. AND I TOO READ EXODUS AND MILA 18 AND NOW...I SEE THE UTTER CONTEMPT THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS FOR MUCH OF THE POPULATION...AND I WONDER IF WE WERE SOLD A FAIRY TALE.

The Far, Far Left Jewish Owned firm.The Southern Poverty Law Center..which Team Obama used to source the DHS Right Wing Extremist Farcical Report....(write it..many suspect)..is supported by Lefist Jews...and the SPLC..supports PALESTINE..YOU WILL NEVER FIND A MUSLIM JEHADDIST ON THEIR MADE UP 'HATE' GROUPS...

"Resurrecting the Right-wing Militia Bogeyman

The Southern Poverty Law Center is up to its old tricks, demonizing conservatives and playing the race card for profit.

Until a long time after Napoleon's death, English mothers would admonish their children with, "Be good or Nappy will get you." Well, now we hear, be vigilant or the "racist" righties will get you. This is the message of a recent AFP news article oh-so ominously titled "Right-wing militias on the rise in US: report." Here's how the piece begins:

Incensed by the election of the first black US president, right-wing militia groups in the United States are rising again after a decade of decline . . . . Ideologically driven by racism and a virulent anti-government, anti-taxation and anti-immigrant agenda, the homegrown groups that thrived in the 1990s and spurred numerous deadly terrorist attacks are expanding, said the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Ah, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the usual suspect. Now, for those unacquainted with the SPLC, it's an organization founded by "civil rights" attorney Morris Dees in 1971 for, ostensibly, the purposes of fighting for tolerance. Its claim to fame is that it eviscerated certain white supremacist groups in the 1980s and 90s by winning steep civil-rights judgments against them. This brought Dees such acclaim that Hollywood even made a movie about him titled Line of Fire: The Morris Dees Story. The problem is that, to echo Paul Harvey, it didn't tell "the rest of the story." So, what's wrong with battling white supremacists? Nothing. The problem is, when Dees litigated against them, it was not General Patton vs. the Nazis or MacArthur vs. Tojo. It was more like Stalin taking down Hitler.

Dees is a master of civil-rights sleight-of-hand. While billing his organization as one that fights hate groups, one will look in vain to find any on the left. It seems that, in Dees' world, only right-wing groups hate. Yet what truly makes Dees damnable is what he does when he runs out of "rightist" haters. He simply invents them. Consider how his SPLC framed the issue in the AFP article. It cleverly begins by introducing the supposition that these groups are "Incensed by the election of the first black president" — because first impressions matter in propaganda, too. And to the left of this text is . . . guess what? A picture of a policeman watching a Klan rally.

In reality, the Klan isn't a militia and a militia isn't the Klan. In reality, paramilitary groups have existed for a long time and in many lands. And, sure, while some may advance racial causes, they also might advance Islam, communism, an independence movement, freedom, or most anything else under the sun. "Militia" does not denote ideology, only method. Of course, in our nation, militias are generally associated with a certain ideological stance: opposition to federal government intrusion. But that's the point. Given this, it's disingenuous to claim that bigotry inspires their creation. Besides, we also saw an upsurge in militia activity under Bill Clinton, who, believe it or not, wasn't really "the first black president."

And how does the SPLC buttress its white-supremacist bogeyman claim? The AFP writes, "One man 'very upset' with the election of America's first black president was building a radioactive 'dirty bomb'... Another angry at the election and said to be interested in joining a militia killed two sheriff's deputies in Florida, said Larry Keller at the SPLC."

Note the duplicity. Keller juxtaposes a man motivated by race — who he doesn't say has militia ties — with a man "interested" in joining a militia but who he doesn't say had a racial motivation. Where's the beef? Is this the best the SPLC can offer?

The SPLC then transitions from the anecdotal to the statistical. After giving the impression that the election of a black man has inspired the militias' proliferation, it says that militia activity increased 54 percent between, get this, 2000 and 2008. Well, I guess George W. Bush must have been our second black president.

But it gets worse. After associating all militias with the KKK, the SPLC then associates "mainstream" conservative commentators — notably Glenn Beck — with the militias, saying that they "aped and championed" the militias' ideology. No, they don't have a picture of Beck sporting a hood or burning a cross; instead, his sin was talking about some "conspiracy theories." The AFP article also thus smears Texas governor Rick Perry and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, mentioning the former's allusion to secession and the latter's warning about "re-education camps."

But this is par for the course for Morris Dees. And if this characterization sounds harsh, read (here or here) Ken Silverstein's great expose "The Church of Morris Dees." Silverstein points out that 95 percent of all "hate crimes" are perpetrated by "lone wolves" with no connection whatsoever to hate groups, let alone militias or mainstream conservative movements. Yet you wouldn't know it listening to Dees. He has made a career out of showcasing the evils of a few avowedly bigoted radicals, ascribing their motivations to minority-view mainstream conservatives — especially pro-Second Amendment and small-government groups — and then claiming they must be thwarted as well.

But note that I said "career," not calling, as Dees has used the tolerance business to fill SPLC coffers with more than $150 million. In fact, Dees has always seemed to be more about dollars than doctrine, as those who know him best will attest. For example, Silverstein quotes former Dees associate and anti-death penalty lawyer Millard Farmer, who said, "[Dees is] the Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker of the civil rights movement — though I don't mean to malign Jim and Tammy Faye." Even more telling, the SPLC's entire legal staff resigned in 1986, upset that Dees' wouldn't help minorities but was simply interested in peddling the dramatic KKK narrative and milking rich donors. And this is precisely Dees' motivation now. He knows his market, and this is why the SPLC report is ominously titled "The Second Wave: Return of the Militias." Ooh, yikes, The Empire Strikes Back, anyone? How about Darth Vader and the Death Star? Ah, the deep pockets in New York City, San Francisco and Chicago will turn inside-out.

You know, there's a very old, best-selling book man has often looked to for guidance, and it isn't hate that it says is the root of all evil. Ka-ching, Morrie, ka-ching. (alipac)

The Jews were God's chosen people until the birth of Christ the Savior; at that point, we all became God's people. However, as a Christian, I fully support Israel, as I must, in order for the unfolding of Biblical events as they must happen. Let's not forget, either that Jesus and Mary are Jews! How can this country not support Israel??

Why would any nation not understand that Rahm is 1st, a pragmatic pol, and that his "Faith" can never decide a USA position, duh?

Whoa! Faith has to decide everything; to think less is to display great magnitude of foolishness and lack of wisdom. Don't you understand that at the center of everything, and I mean everything, is God??????????????????????

As the Obama administration presses Israel to cease settlement expansion as part of a renewed push for a Middle East peace deal—a course of action that many Israelis have interpreted as evidence of the president’s favoritism towards Palestinians

Why would they trust a Muslim like Obama in the first place. Jews in this country voted for him as they always vote Democrat. Perhaps they will learn a lesson about the far left wing of that party who wants Israel destroyed.

Okay, between Politico's Hugh Hewitt disasterous embarrassement (yeah, other blogs are laughing at that total fiasco) and the laughable "Republicans getting a spring back in their step," you'll have to excuse me while I try not to ROFLMAO!

Hard to take this blog serious anymore let alone think it's not filled with falsehoods. But I'll just say that Emmanual is an American and the president's chief of staff serving at the pleasure of the president, and not brokering deals. He understands this. Obama's cabinet knows this. Also,VP Biden didn't stutter in his interview regarding Israel's soverignty and our understanding of it. Mr. Biden was quite clear.

The ballerina is running foreign policy and he is humiliating Senator Clinton, Payback for the campaign. She is proving herself to be tough and dedicated. Ill bethey had a good laugh around the Whitehouse regarding her channeling comments.

Sure, some ultra right Israelis might be souring on Rahm, but you can sure - idiot - that the powers that be in Israel were in on the deal - they knew that Obama wanted to publically announce his opposition to the settlements. You people need writers who know what they are talking about . You're turning in Fox News from the pressure of putting out all this pap every day.

It is quite clear that the Israeli govt wants nothing but war with Palestine and uses anyone or anything to get its way. Rahm seems to be working on 20 cylinders and doing what is rtight for America and that is what he is supposed to do. When Israel become the 51 st state, it can have a different perspective. Right now it should take care of itself without US dollars and weapons